Top 10 Terrifying Anime Villains

“Knights of Sidonia” (2014-15) By themselves, the Gauna are already some of the most disgusting and dangerous creatures to ever grace the cosmos, after all, they did end up breaking the Earth in two. What could be worse than that? How about one that takes on the form of a blood-soaked mecha that frequently uses the voice of deceased lovable character Shizuka. As such, this creature not only is able to fight the rest of the Garde pilots on equal footing but also taunt them with the voice of their fallen comrade.

“Hunter x Hunter” (2011-14) While each of the royal guards are horrifying in their own right, none quite match the primal fear inflicted by this Chimera Ant behemoth. Not only does Youpi possess extraordinary power when it comes to punching the guts out of Hunters, but should he be overcome with rage, you’ll likely see him transform into either a blood-curdling mass of tendrils or a warmongering centaur. Though whichever form he may take, only one thing is certain. Death.

“Re:Zero –Starting life in Another World-” (2016) With his freaky appearance and tendency to contort his body during conversations, this Sin Archbishop was unsettling enough as is. However, things got worse when he managed to get his hands-on Subaru and Rem, using his magic to torture them in a truly heinous fashion, loving every second of the process. Sure, Subaru managed to best him after resetting the timeline, but that doesn’t take away all the cruel actions that this Witch’s Cult member inflicted. You can’t expect us to un-see Rem being twisted like a ragdoll anytime soon.

#7: All For One

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Top 20 Most TERRIFYING Anime Villains

“My Hero Academia” (2016-) Now this is what you call a supervillain. Archenemy of All Might, this criminal mastermind wasn’t only the one responsible for setting up the League of Villains but was also strong enough to effectively undo the Symbol of Peace. While his strength is truly alarming, the scariest part about this faceless fiend is his cunning. Torturing All Might over the death of his predecessor by turning her grandchild to the dark side being a prime example. He may have been bested in the end, but this OG villain’s legacy still lives on.

“JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders” (2014-15) Out of all the Stands that the Joestars have ever fought against, none have inspired more fear than this endless void. In service to Dio, the vampiric Vanilla Ice might sound like a comedic villain, especially when you find out his Stand is called Cream, but trust us, this guy is no laughing matter. Able to summon a demonic creature than can suck foes into a pocket dimension, Vanilla Ice made short work of both Avdol and Iggy. Yikes, Jotaro is lucky that he didn’t encounter this guy earlier on, as we don’t think he could have survived a surprise attack.

“Fate/Zero” (2011-12) As far as first impressions go, ripping a child to pieces via demonic tendrils is certainly one way of setting yourself up as the series’ resident monster. While the majority of the Masters and Servants in the Fourth Holy Grail War aren’t exactly saints, Caster is on a whole other level of diabolical. Not only are his mannerisms, hulking size and general guise right out of a Guillermo Del Toro film, but there’s also the fun fact he derives extreme pleasure from giving his victims a moment of hope before purging them. What a delightful chap.

“Parasyte -the maxim-” (2014-15) In a series filled with body-snatching aliens that can turn their human hosts into walking weapons, it takes a special kind of creature to stand out of the crowd. That’s where Gotou comes in. As a being hosting multiple Parasites within its body, Gotou is not only the apex predator but also the most sadistic among his people. Preying on humans for sport as opposed to sustenance, he managed to rack up quite the body count during his short life, nearly putting protagonist Shinichi in the ground on multiple occasions. Even armed with someone like Migi, we’re not sure how Shinichi had the stomach to stand up to something as imposing as this beast.

“Monster” (2004-05) Just goes to show that you don’t need to have a supernatural affinity in order to qualify as a horrifying anime villain. Johan is about as human as you can get, which is what makes him so freakin’ scary. He is a master manipulator, completely without morality and devilishly smart, to the point that he was actually recruited as a potential candidate to become Hitler 2.0. Not that it did them much good when he slaughtered them all. Of course, the greatest weapon that he has at his disposal is his persuasiveness. Just one conversation and numerous civilians have found themselves taking their own lives or the lives of those they love. Why? Because Johan asked them to.

#2: God Hand

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Top 20 Most Evil Anime Villains

“Berserk” franchise (1997-) Turns out that God exists. Unfortunately for humanity, God is actually a set of demonic deities who take great pleasure in screwing over the populace in the worse way possible. As the four strongest Apostles in existence, the God Hand manipulate mankind though temptations as well as sending in their own monstrous forces to cause havoc. We were given a snapshot of their cruelty during the events of the Eclipse, wherein they brought Griffith into their ranks in exchange for him sacrificing the Band of the Hawk. The last thing you want is these guys to answer your prayers.

“Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood” (2009-10) The Homunculi are a nasty bunch to begin with, however the one we’d hate to encounter down a dark alley would without a doubt be this blob of flesh. Mainly because he would eat us alive without question. An experiment created by Father in order to replicate the Gate of Truth, Gluttony’s stomach is its own plain of reality, serving as a prison to those that remain undigested. If that wasn’t chilling enough, just wait until you see what he looks like when he goes on the offensive. And if that’s not enough nightmare fuel for you, we kindly refer you to Conqueror of Shamballa.